Future Reviews

If you would like us to review a restaurant please put the name and address in a comment below. We do reviews primarily in West Virginia, but will post reviews from our various travels across the Mid-Atlantic and the United States.

I am new to Charleston, I moved here a while ago from the Caribbean. Being so far away from home, what keeps me close is the food, that I have to make myself because I dont know of any eatery thet serves caribbean food.

So my question is, is there any restaurants that might serve caribbean inspired food in WV?

Jodi-Ann, first: welcome to Wild, Wonderful West Virginia! As for your question, Dan & I have conferred and we don’t know of a Carribean-style restaurant in our great state. Please let us know if you find what youa re looking for. Until then, keep on cooking! For a taste of WV, try some home-cooking at Diehl’s in Nitro. Misty says their fried potatoes are the best.

To Anne and Bill – both those places you recommended are my Hot List. I have been dying to go to Aubrey’s for a long time. My girlfriend has been there and said it is fabulous and very romantic. I have been hinting to Ron heavily. As for the Crepes, I checked out the menu last week when I was at Penn Station and the smoked salmon sounded wonderful. Hopefully we can get there soon. Thanks for the suggestions and keep ’em coming.

Susan- Totre’s is fairly new. It’s right off the Teays Valley exit in a new building on the left side of Rt. 34 as you head toward Winfield. It’s next to the BP station and across from the library. It opened as the Clubhouse, but has closed and is now Totre’s. We’d been to the Clubhouse a few times and the food was good-basic bar food. But the Clubhouse also had a bar (the atmosphere kinda reminded me of Griff’s) and I believe a closed room with poker machines. We drove up to the door one evening last week and noticed a sign stating you had to be 18 to enter so that scared us off since we had our 11-month old nephew with us. Not that I’m afraid of bars, I was just hoping it’d be more grub than pub. We need more grub spots in Teays Valley.

I have been in Totre’s several times. The wings are big and excellent, several sauces, & Bristol wings. All the sandwiches are on deep fried hogie buns. Food has low prices and large portions. I think they want to be a resturant with a bar, they keep adding menu items. Big selection of beer too. The putnam county smoking law is 18 and up, that is the sign on the door.

Thanks, Chip. Now that I know it’s more grub than pub and not a gambling joint, I’m going to try it- this week! I noticed last Monday evening that it was packed around dinner time. Is there something special about Monday evenings?

Laura-
My girls have been there with their Dad and they liked it. I would love to go, but I’d better hurry before Daniel puts a moratorium on Mexican as well as Chinese places. He thinks I eat those types of food too often.

Diehl’s was mentioned in the comments section of the China Buffet review. I ate at Diehl’s Sunday at around 3:45 in the afternoon. I’ve been eating there for years and I’ve never had any bad experiences whatsoever. The food is ALWAYS good, as is the service. However, last Sunday it was kind of an off time we were there but it seemed to take unusually long to get our food. But the food was excellent, as usual. I’m a HUGE fan of the Food Network and really love the show “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives” and Diehl’s is one place I think Guy should visit for his show (I’m not calling Diehl’s a dive. It’s just the type of place they cover on the show.)

Diehl’s, along with the Farm Table in South Charleston, led me to believe that any restaurant with the word, “family” in the name translates to “hairs in the food.” I had hair in mashed potatoes at Diehl’s and hair incorporated into a salmon cake at Farm Table. I will NEVER go to either place again.
NASTY!

Hair can be found in any restaurant at any time unless every worker there is completely bald from head to toe. I’ve found hair in my food before. I just stop eating that dish and say to myself, oh well, stuff happens, and move on.

Went to Totre’s last night finally. It’s bar food in a bar (duh.) We shared 12 Bristol wings. They are a combo of hot, bbq and honey mustard sauce fried, sauced, then grilled. Very tasty. We also split the prime rib sandwich with onion strings and steak fries. The sandwich was very flavorful and a good size. The fries were ok, but the onion straws were a little greasy. Since Putnam Co. still allows smoking in restaurants and bars, there were several people smoking but we actually came out of there smelling like we’d been swimming in the deep fryer. I’ll go back, though, for the wings for sure.

You guys should check out Tomahawks Smokehouse & Saloon at 5930 MacCorkle Ave. SW in St. Albans. Phone number is (304) 201-2065. It’s located at the Indian motorcycle dealership (actually not really in St. Alban’s but in what I think is called ‘Jefferson’ now) and of course it is a biker friendly place. I went there this past Saturday for lunch with a couple friends. They only had one waitress at the time and she was fairly busy, but she was still very friendly. I got a damn good steak sandwich. And their seasoned waffle fries were really tasty. I’d like to see what you guys think of the place.

Charles-
Thanks for the suggestions. I almost made it to C Gallery for dinner this past week but went to Sleepy Hollow instead. I’ll get there, though – I live closeby.

I have been to Carmona’s several times prior to the change of ownership and thought it was great. Portions were huge and food tasted good. I only make it there if I have 2 nights in Buckhannon, though- it’s hard for me to tear myself away from CJ Maggie’s. lol I’ll definitely be back to see if/how things have changed.

Is Tomahawk’s in South Charleston on your radar? I heard and saw they’ve reopened and I’m wondering if the atmosphere is still ultra-pro biker? The food used to be very good but went downhill before it closed initially.

LAL-
The C Gallery is a floral shop and they also sell home decor items and gifts. They serve a simple lunch at a handful of tables near the back of the shop and they have dinner Thursday-Saturday evenings. I had lunch there once under the management of the previous owners. They are located beside A&L Hardware across from Hurricane City Park.

How ’bout O’Skee’s on Rt. 60 in St. Albans? It’s between Enterprize and KMart. There was a review in the newspaper a few months ago and it sounded really good. I’ve not been there yet, but would like to.

Update: Porker’s in Teays Valley is closed. At first the sign two weeks ago said “Closed for vacation.” Now the “for vacation” part is covered. About the time it was closed for vacation, a friend was at the CL location and talked to one of the owners and he told her TV was closed.

Ate at Tomahawks last week. The Whiskey Glazed Sirloin was very tasty and tender. Great place to sit on the deck but the weather was so humid, we sat inside. The place is bigger than it looks and the Manager told me they are open for lunch now. Thumbs up on the food, the service was a bit slow, but friendly.

You all should try Mrs. Winkle’s in the plaza next to Appalachian Power Park. It’s in the old Bowincal’s and is a thousand times more fabulous. The owner imports ingredients straight from Italy for her homemade gelato. Also, be sure to try the Cajun Sinsation hot dog.

I’m pretty sure she makes her own. She’s a stickler for the homemade stuff. She even makes her own fruit lemonade. She has peach, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, and a few other flavors that I can’t think of at the moment.

I was pretty sure Stefano’s was going to close. It had been going downhill for awhile and the last time I was in there there was only like 1 other customer for dinner and I felt like I was watching a Kitchen Nightmares episode.

You guys should check out Mama Mia’s in Poca (the old Hardee’s.) We had pizza there Friday night and it was really good. It had a chewy, but crisp, crust and lots of toppings. Their menu has a few Greek dishes, but is mostly Italian stuff. My in-laws go there regularly for the pasta dishes and really like them. Mike, the owner, is super nice and is always right in the mix, taking orders, mingling with the customers, serving and cooking.

My son and I tried the Hungry Hound in Poca (across from the Fire Station) last week. Its brand new, but don’t waste your time going there. It was absolutely awful. The wings were unedible. Very low quality meat – tasted gamey and looked brutal. I think these are the same folks who run Wing World in Hurricane as the menus and color schemes are nearly identical.

Another one for you! The Village Inn on the main drag in Milton, “family owned for 36 years.” We lunch there on Saturday after a brief trip to the B’ville mall. We left the mall headed toward Winfield on Rt. 60 looking for a non-chain to have lunch. We saw this place and decided to give it a try.

We shared the 9″ fish sandwich and loved it. It was a huge piece of fish fried perfectly and placed on a nice soft bun. We added lettuce, jalepenos and tartar. Susan, I know you like to “choke it down dry”, but the tartar sauce tasted homemade and was really good.

We also shared a calzone with sausage, green peppers, onions, mushrooms and jalepenos in a homemade crust. The crust was wonderful and the entire calzone was HUGE.

I noticed several other things on the menu were homemade such as the bun for one of the specialty burgers. Some other interesting things on the menu were a 6″ cheeseburger and a pizza burger. They also have some dinner items, but I didn’t examine that part of the menu much. The place also has a small salad bar.

Good call. I stopped to get a menu this weekend, but indeed found out that it was a gambling joint—yeah, like we need another one in West Virginia. Ironically, the lady who works there said that she has people coming there all the time asking for a menu.

That’s an assignment we should give to Ron. He loves el crapo buffets where you can get unlimited quantities of mediocre food for a rather cheap price.

You know how pregnant women sometimes get ridiculous, strange cravings? Well, when I was pregnant years ago, I thought I wanted to eat at Golden Corral. After I got there, I realized I did not. Haven’t been back since.

Interesting idea, though. They are probably decent places for a low-carb diet, to look on the bright side.

We have been in business 14 years as Sedona Grille and as of December 31, 2008 re-opened as Sedona Cantina and Tapas. We would love a visit. I really like this site and am happy I came upon it. Cheers! Virginia

The Italian Grill and Deli in Putnam Village is now open and we tried it a couple nights ago. It’s in the old Stefano’s spot. The interior has been spiffed up a bit and looks nice. The new owners kept the yummy rolls and marinara sauce from Stefano’s and bring them to you when you order. The menu is scaled down compared to Stefano’s, but they have the standard Italian dishes including a few specialties, pizza and sandwiches. Our server was the daughter of the owners and she told us they make all their own dressings, sauces and a couple of the desserts. The spaghetti and Italian sausage I had was good and my husband’s antipasto salad was huge and he really like it. But the star of the meal was the Italian Cream Cake that grandma makes. OMG! And my husband loved the Italian coffee.

If you’re in Clarksburg, try Vito’s Pizza-the pizza is wonderful! Star in India in Parkersburg isn’t too bad either, but Sitar is much, much better. Harding’s in Charleston has some of the best blueberry pancakes I’ve ever had, and the prices aren’t bad for the amount of food you get.

Tried it for the first time on the 4th. It was excellent! We had the black bean pizza (beans, jalepenos, cheddar, cilantro and creme fraiche) and the Cuban Pork pizza (seasoned pulled pork, caramelized onions, pineapple, jalepenos, feta cheese, cilantro and creme fraiche.) Both were awesome! We will definitely go back and try two other wonderful-looking specialty pizzas.

Would love to see what you guys think of Sam’s on Capital St. I think it’s the best bar food in town. Great sandwiches – the Reuben is to die for. Great for lunch or dinner, any day of the week. Open 7 days a week, and the kitchen stays open til 2AM!

For those of you that haven’t, please give Oskee’s in St. Albans a whirl. I sampled the food there three weeks ago and have been back every week since. Yes, it’s a greasy and sometimes sticky spoon. I blame this on a poor ventilation system. But I promise the food does not disappoint. You get good, old hometown service with a smile and the desserts and burgers are the best I’ve tasted in the Valley. Take, for instance, this evening; my husband and I decided to go there for dinner. I was secretly hoping they’d have the steak wraps they ran out of last week but I was informed these had to be made in advance and well, there were none. No biggie, I settled for the steak sandwich. Well, just as we were about to leave, the chef himself presented me with a delightful steak wrap. While it wasn’t the egg roll-like shape the others were last week, it was still a cute little wonton. He even prepared some of the dipping sauce, all on the house. Now, I ask, what kind of service is this?!? Brilliant!! I will be frequenting this place for a long time to come!

Also, Billy’s has re-opened but with a limited menu. Its appetizers, salads, and sandwiches and appears to be a hybrid of soho’s and billy’s. I had delicious portobello fries and an OK wedge salad. $2 drafts mean I might go back just to drink.

Suggest RPM in Charleston at old Hills Plaza (Patrick Street Plaza). Was formally a Sam’s Hot Dog, but has been transformed into a hot dog/BBQ venue. The them is vintage muscle car (hence “RPM”). Prices are reasonable, food is delicious and excellent ice cream. This is a lunch venue as it closes at six. Suggest you get there before six so you can take home some “Q” for dinner!

You should definitely try out the Kanawha River Cafe in Chesapeake. We took our boat through the Marmet locks and docked at this little restaurant. We only wanted a cold drink and some air conditioning at the time, but decided to snack on their English Hot Dogs and River Fries (handcut fries with malt vinegar and Old Bay). WOW, WOW, WOW!! LOVE this place. Excellent food, great people, gorgeous and clean place right on the river.
Its owned by a local couple. The husband showed up at the dock and helped us tie off our boats, which was great. And the wife explained that she used to work at the Greenbrier and had made a point to find a distributer who would sell her the same hot dogs as the Greenbrier uses. Great place. I truly hope they get enough business to thrive. Boaters should take the extra 20 mins to go through the locks. It knocks the socks off of the Barge, Huck Finns, and Tomahawks. The Marmet Lock’s number is (304)949-1175 – just call to say you want to go through. Its easy, free, and a very cool experience.

do you mean Gram’s, near the Shoney’s? If so, they sell hot dogs. We do plan to eat there. We thought a meal of a hot dog and a PIE sounded pretty darned good. We’ll go as soon as we can all five agree on one flavor of pie. 🙂

Definitely check out Sushi Atlantic on Shrewsbury Street in Charleston. Go for dinner! It’s truly a hidden gem in downtown Charleston, or even West Virginia for that matter. The couple who own the place couldn’t be more friendly. They serve an extensive menu and all of what we had this evening was fabulous. My husband couldn’t stop commenting on how fresh and flavorful the seafood was. This will be a regular on our restaurant circuit from now on.

How about pepperoni buns? Fairmont WV has several places and types you could check out. I like buns with small strips of pepperoni instead of the thin slices. Don’t forget the sauce, cheese, and peppers.

If anyone at Snowshoe or the Slatyfork area anytime soon, you MUST try the Elk River Inn & Restaurant. It is a diamond in the rough. It is right on the main road in Slatyfork on the way to Snowshoe. To get to it you have to cross this dated looking wooden slat bridge and from the outside you would never guess there was a restaurant there, much less an amazing on. We went there in early June and were very surprised. I had an amazing Beef Tenderloin served wrapped in pancetta and covered with a port & toasted black pepper demi-glace. It came with some of the best gnocchi I have ever had as well as amazingly fresh snow peas. If someone hadn’t told me about it prior we wouldn’t have given it a second thought.

In Fayetteville last Saturday, we chose Pies and Pints for dinner (excellent choice), but we were torn between there, Gumbo’s, Diogi’s and Sedona. All look great on their websites. If we can stand to bypass Pies and Pints (will be difficult to do) next time in Fayetteville, I’d like to try Gumbo’s next.

What about Jen’s? It used to be in Nitro and is now in Institute right across from West Virginia State on Fairlawn Ave. My wife has eaten there several times, somehow always with the girls and not me LOL, and absolutely loves it.

I came across your blog and enjoyed much. Julians was spot on, I get a kick out of watching Steven making his rounds. We travel somewhat (from Columbia s.c.) and I would always find a way to visit Lewisburg, a lovely town to visit , however we would often have the kids with us, which meant no sitter. Steven does not enjoy children, especially at his establishment and to this day when I call to make reservations he wants to know how many high chairs will be needed and not in a nice way. I still consider it one of my fav places to eat.
Also, you should consider a trip to Greenville SC over the labor day weekend to take in the USPro cycling championship. You will be impressed with the the great choices of restaurants downtown. Best kept secret in the Southeast. George Hincapie resides here and I’m guessing Lance will ride in Gville this year.
Anyway, come for the food and see the biggest cycling event in the states……..Robby

Just tried the Red Rooster Cafe in beautiful downtown Gassaway! Hope you review it soon– it is a great stop for those on the road to or from a WVU game. They serve dinner on Saturdays until 9:30. We really enjoyed our meal.

My favorite place to dine in Charleston WV is by far Laurys Restaraunt. It is the best food in Charleston. The restaraunt itself is beatiful and there is not much you can go wrong with on the menu. The dishes are larger than most fine dining restaraunts and they are absolutly amazing. You should deff check it out.

12/12/09 Tonight we drove from Clarksburg to Gassaway to eat at the Red Rooster. Worst meal I’ve had in WV except for their appetizer crab cakes! My husband’s steak and baked potato came out cold – butter wouldn’t even melt on the potato. My lasagna was hot but I could eat only about a third of it because the sauce was so sweet and the ricotta (if it was) was tasteless. We planned a relaxing leisure dinner but no luck there. No pre-dinner drinks were available, the salad came out first, halfway through the salad the mini-crab cakes show up but, hey, I can eat them together but lo and behold the entrees show up within two minutes. I continued eating my appetizer/salad since the lasagna plate was very hot (probably out of the zapper) and before I finished it the waitress wanted to know if we had room for dessert. As stated, the entrees were so disappointing – my husband asked for the check and he brought home half his steak and I brought home my lasagna for my neighbor to try (she had heard about the RR but has never eaten there). How about your group – have you eaten there?
In Clarksburg the 4th Street has good food – a little pricey – have always been pleased with quality of food and service and atmosphere. Their fried oysters are the best I have ever eaten! Also the same goes for the Provence Market in Bridgeport .

Bobby’s Bar and Grill. Cross Lanes. Across from Cross Lanes Elementary School. Stir fry with the best fried rice ever/egg roll/crab rangoon (homemade) on Wednesdays, all you can eat spaghetti (also best ever!) on Thursdays. Best burgers I have ever eaten with beer batter fries that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Beer bucket prices are a bit high but the food is so good, I still want to go there.

I am suprised no one has even mentioned The Chop House. While it is ridiculously over-priced, it is still supposed to be “the poshest place to eat in town”! Because I had to find out for myself, I went for my 1 year anniversary. The food was excellent! Surely not worth the price, but really yummy. You guys should for sure go and do a review on it for all the Charlestonians!

I was there on my birthday so I was already receiving a 50% discount. I also used to work in the industry and you can have the best IPM program and still have bugs that come from the other lease holders of the space. So I’m somewhat forgiving. I think it was a winged ant.

Mator’s Family Grill in Belle is apparently closed. A friend of my husband’s recently stopped by and there was a sign on the door that said they were closed. I called the listed number and it’s been disconnected.

A couple things/places. Noticed Rocky Top is still on the list. They are long since gone from Hurricane, which really wasn’t a loss. Chief’s now is what used to be Kalis, haven’t heard anything on them good or bad. But my big question is about the new place in Cross Lanes. Ameriasia Thai? Saw a write up in the paper about it and seemed interesting. And lastly, not sure if it is too far out of reach, but the wife and I ate at Fusion Steakhouse in Triadelphia (the Highlands) this past weekend. This place put Hibachi in Corridor G to shame. It also gave Taste of Asia a run for their money. Really funky modern decorated place, staff was great and food was amazing. They have one in Triadelphia and one in Vienna. Are a must visit if anyone is in the neighborhood.

Jamaican Cafe in Martinsburg, WV is a must try. It’s nothing like any Jamaican restaurant you’ve been to. The food, people, atmosphere and music is great. It is a sit down dining spot with lots to offer. Check it out.

I ate there last week. It’s Chef Boyardee-like pizza at a high cost. They do sell it by the slice, so you’re getting it cheaper than buying a whole pizza, but it’s still the same pizza. The atmosphere is boring – just chairs, tables, two televisions (small and far away from viewing), and walls with outdated, “not-so-easy on the eye” art. For an added bonus, they allow wildlife to roam free in their facility…I killed the roach myself, so if you’re a hunter, this may be your place. Their menu, overall, is boring. It’s pizza, breadsticks, and cheesesticks. No wings, which is a huge negative. All in all, I’d rather go to the grocery store, buy the pizza kit, and go to my roachless home, sit on my comfortable couch, and watch a television that I can see. Hope this helps!

Power Park Grill is open again. It seems the problem waitstaff has been corrected by eliminating them.. You now order at the register and wait for them to bring your order. In our case it was wait and wait and wait. I finally got up and asked (after 20 minutes) after which the hostess promptly found my order. I ordered chicken with onion rings. the rings must have been ready when they were supposed to be because 20 minutes late, they were charred. It was almost like one basket was burnt and one was fixed properly and then they tried mixing them.

Oh well maybe give the place a few weeks to settle in but I don’t think this edition will be any better than the previous. Mr Milovich may know how to run a baseball team but he is really striking out with this restaurant.

Jamaican Cafe has theeeee best food in the area and I eat out a lot. I’ve tried practically the entire menu. I don’t care who you are, you haven’t had good food until you try Jamaican Cafe and it’s not all spicy. I mean there are days when I don’t feel for spicy but they satisfy.

For a great fish sandwich, try the fishmonger in the capital market. Very good sandwich, served on a large croissant. He might have clams too, and I’m sure would fry them for you if they aren’t already on the menu. Tricky Fish and Tidewater also have excellent fish sandwiches.

I have lived for many years where I could catch or purchase really fresh fish and sea food, and traveled to many more such locations, and enjoyed snacking and dining on such bounty. I have been to the fishmonger in Capital Market, probably the best there is here, and I checked out restaurants in Charleston, South Charleston, and other locations, and my original statement re clams and good fish sandwiches still stands. FRESH fish and seafood appears to be a myth here. I would be delighted and grateful to receive even one valid lead that would allow me to withdraw my comments. I’m not out to negatively criticize. I just want some good fried clams and a good fish sandwich. It may be a lot to ask of an area that seem to specialize in serving the best barbecue dishes in the country. (Again, my honest opinion)

Being a landlocked state, “fresh” seafood here probably means “as fresh as possible.” There’s no way it can go from water to table in a matter of a couple of hours like in costal states, unless you want a fresh carp or catfish sandwich from the Kanawha River. But be careful, you might get one with three or four eyes and a couple of tails.

Ashley, are you the only one doing reviews now? The last review by anyone other than you was March 22. I was so excited when I started reading this blog a few years ago that a new review seemed to come at least once a month but now they are few and far between. I went to Jim’s and Susan would be happy to know that for my $8.95 entree I got a salad, bread and a drink included in the price. Did everyone lose their steam and now they need others to pick up the banner? I’m not complaining, I just miss the how busy this blog used to be and would like to see it there again.

I’m surprised you haven’t reviewed the newly-reopened Quarrier Diner in downtown Charleston. I’ve visited the basement bar, Timothy’s, on a couple of occasions, but I shall refrain from commenting. From others I’ve heard mixed reviews about the food and mixed reviews of the service. I’d like to know what YOU think.

Unforunately Ashley has to carry the Fork You load all by her lonesome now. I got married and ran off to Louisville, Misty took a different job, Phil never wrote anyway, and Daniel is up to his eyeballs in a dozen other projects.